Starting a Roth IRA in college is one of the smartest financial moves you can make. We break down the best brokerages for students — Fidelity, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, and Betterment — based on fees, minimums, and student-friendly features.
If you're in college and have earned income — from a part-time job, internship, or side hustle — opening a Roth IRA now could be one of the most powerful financial decisions you ever make. Here's why: compounding interest. Every dollar you invest in your late teens or early twenties has decades to grow, tax-free. A $1,000 contribution at age 20 could be worth over $30,000 by retirement (assuming 7% annual growth). That's not magic — that's math.
The catch? You need earned income equal to or greater than your contribution (up to the annual limit of $7,000 for 2024). But if you meet that requirement, a Roth IRA is hard to beat: contributions can be withdrawn anytime without penalty, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free.1
Here are the best Roth IRA options for college students, based on what matters most to you.
Fidelity checks every box for a student starting out: $0 account minimums, $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs, and a massive library of educational content. You can buy fractional shares of S&P 500 companies with as little as $1, which makes it easy to start investing even with a small paycheck. Their mobile app is solid, and their customer service is widely praised.2
Best for: the beginner who wants a full-service brokerage with no barriers to entry.
Robinhood pioneered commission-free trading with a slick, mobile-first interface. If you're already comfortable on your phone and want to trade stocks, ETFs, and even crypto inside your IRA, Robinhood is a strong contender. They offer fractional shares and a clean UX that makes investing feel less intimidating. The trade-off: fewer educational resources and less hand-holding than Fidelity or Schwab.2
Best for: the student who wants a fast, modern app and already knows the basics.
Schwab is legendary for investor education. Their platform includes a paper trading account (think: a flight simulator for stocks) so you can practice buying and selling without risking real money. Once you're ready, you can open a Roth IRA with $0 minimums and zero commissions. Schwab also offers fractional shares through Stock Slices and has excellent customer support.2
Best for: the student who wants to learn the ropes before committing real cash.
Betterment is a robo-advisor: you answer a few questions about your goals and risk tolerance, and it builds and manages a diversified portfolio of ETFs for you automatically. There's no account minimum for their digital plan (0.25% annual fee). It's the "set it and forget it" option — perfect if you'd rather focus on your studies than rebalance your portfolio.2
Best for: the student who wants a fully automated, goal-based investing experience.
| Feature | Fidelity | Robinhood | Charles Schwab | Betterment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account Minimum | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Trading Fees | $0 commissions | $0 commissions | $0 commissions | 0.25% annual fee |
| Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes | Yes (Stock Slices) | Yes (via ETFs) |
| Educational Tools | Extensive | Minimal | Excellent | Goal-based planning |
| Best For | Beginners | Tech-savvy | Learners | Hands-off |
For college students, the biggest barrier to entry is often the upfront cost. Many traditional brokerages used to require $1,000 or more to open an account. All four picks here have $0 account minimums and $0 commissions, meaning you can start with whatever you have — even $5 or $10 a month.2
What separates them is how they support you as a new investor:
No matter which you choose, the most important step is the first one: open the account, fund it with whatever earned income you have, and start building the habit. Your future self will thank you.
Disclosure: AskBuy may earn a commission if you open an account through some of the links above. This does not affect our recommendations — we only recommend products we believe in.
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